About us
We have deep experience in coaching, training, facilitating workshops, strategic planning, team building, focus groups, organizational and team assessments and conflict resolution. We are flexible, objective, non-judgmental and use state-of-the-art processes for positive outcomes. We are certified coaches in emotional intelligence and DiSC. Each of our coaches have logged over 2000 hours of coaching.
Our Executives
Marilyn Manning, Ph.D. Psychology, M.A. Social Science, and her team provide executive coaching, conflict mediation, assessments, facilitation, training, and organizational development. Dr. Manning coaches executives to manage situationally with Emotional Intelligence. She has provided over 4500 hours of coaching. Her clients save the tough interpersonal issues and organizational challenges for her. She is efficient, compassionate, and results oriented as a coach and mediator. She has consulted and coached in every City department, including Police, Fire, City Manager’s Office, HR, IT, Finance, Community Development, Public Works, Library, and City Council.
Richard Lonergan, M.A., supports The Consulting Team with CFO expertise from 32 years in the computer, information processing, and finance industries.
His roles have included Executive Vice President of Visa International, General Manager of General Electric Computer Services, and Systems Engineering Manager for the IBM Corporation. He has a unique perspective thanks to his experience managing systems support, consulting services, and a major bank card expansion.
Additionally, Richard supports community service. He is an active member of the Board of Directors for SPUR in San Jose, the Board of Trustees of Palo Alto University, the Rotary Club of Los Altos, and the Board of the Los Altos Stage Company.
Testimonials
“Dr. Marilyn Manning and The Consulting Team bring a skilled independent eye to your organization to thoughtfully access personality traits and leadership skills, both good and bad, and how to improve working relationships within your organization. She and the team come with tremendous passion for the subject matter and will challenge your thought process toward the greater good of the organization."
Bernie Escalante
Chief of Police, Santa Cruz, CA
“Marilyn and The Consulting Team’s up-front preparation with San Ramon’s City Council, attention to detail, and calm focused approach during the session helped our council and staff maximize our time together and create clear goals for the City.”
Joe Gorton
City Manager, San Ramon, CA
“Dr. Manning was very responsive and handled a very sensitive matter very effectively, bridging significant cultural differences with tremendous expertise. Her work was thorough, and she was able to conclude the matter on time.”
Linda Usoz
Attorney at Law, Stanford University
“I began working with Dr. Manning at a critical time. I was a new leader with a lot of ideas, a sense of urgency, and not much else. Dr. Manning’s ability to listen carefully, ask crucial questions, and combine the big picture with immediately applicable practices, made an immediate difference for me. Working with her helped me unlock more of my potential.”
Mitch Bostian
Head of School, The Berkeley School
Our Senior Associates
NINA MORRIS COLLINS, JD is a Harvard trained negotiator and mediator, as well as a seasoned trainer, facilitator, and coach. She is a forward thinking and approachable professional with a unique blend of real-life experience, technical and soft skills, and a great passion for people. Nina helps individuals and teams build the skills and confidence they need to be the best version of themselves. She has a proven history of establishing and maintaining trust across generations and at all levels in diverse organizations.
She has successfully resolved numerous labor conflicts, grievances, and discipline matters. She also developed and implemented professional development, diversity, equity, and inclusion programs and policies. She has deep experience working in public agencies including Chief of Staff and Director of Human Resources. She started her career as an accounting clerk while working her way through college. This experience gives Nina a unique insider’s perspective. She also has years of experience facilitating retreats, team-building workshops, performance evaluations, and developing strategic plans.
KATHYE CITRON has been an executive coach, trainer, facilitator, and organizational development consultant for over 20 years. She uses her finely honed skills, empathy, and experience in her coaching. Her interactions showcase her unique abilities to engage clients, engender trust, and spark motivation. Her empathy, compassion, and vulnerability in sharing stories from her management experience give clients confidence that opening up about their challenges will yield growth and solutions. She has clocked over 2000 hours of coaching.
She was Executive Director of the Career Planning Center and CEO of Lifeprint. She brings positive energy and has a solid record of successful outcomes. She has extensive experience facilitating Board and staff retreats, strategic planning processes, and team building. Based on the philosophy that all people have unrealized potential, she shows leaders how to engage and encourage. She has twenty years’ experience coaching for cities, counties, and non-profits.
ERIC FIGUEROA, MBA is a seasoned leader committed to coaching, training, and fostering leadership development. He has a passion for coaching, organizational design, and leadership development within organizations. With over two decades of experience, including seven years in Executive Management, Eric has demonstrated expertise in driving impactful initiatives and successfully restructuring operations.
Eric’s public sector background includes executive positions as the City Manager for the City of Martinez and the Assistant City Manager for the City of San Ramon. As City Manager, he spearheaded the development of the Anti-Racism and Discrimination, Pro-Inclusion and Equity (ARDPIE) Community Task Force. His leadership extended to recruiting management team members, executing organizational re-design, and implementing successful small business recovery programs.
As a public affairs manager for the League of California Cities, he advanced legislative and statewide advocacy priorities, facilitated crucial meetings between city officials and legislators, and built powerful grassroots coalitions.
KAREN MCNAMARA has held leadership and executive positions in the public sector for 30+ years in community services, recreation, maintenance and operations, capital planning and development, solid waste franchise agreements, and best practices. She has strategic planning, facilitation and change management skills, having built highly effective teams and organizations. She uses her knowledge to conduct operational assessments, identify efficiencies, create change, engage the community, and foster innovation. She brings a diverse blend of real-life experience, technical, and soft skills.
She was the President of the California Parks and Recreation Society, a membership organization of 4000+ members, and during her tenure on the Board, led a strategic planning initiative for the recreation and parks profession in California. She has extensive experience facilitating Board and staff retreats, leading strategic planning processes, and addressing organizational issues coupled with problem solving.
JOE GORTON is a seasoned government administrator known for his expertise in leadership, collaboration, partnerships, team building, and conflict resolution. Holding a master's degree in organizational development and a bachelor's degree in public administration from the University of San Francisco, Joe leverages his educational background with his local government experience to bring the client a rich resource.
His experience as both a city manager and a police chief demonstrate his proven leadership abilities, particularly in facilitating others to build effective relationships, strengthen leadership skills, and enhance team building and communication capabilities. In addition, Joe’s experience as an executive recruiter, where he has conducted hundreds of interviews, provides his clients with valuable insights for their own professional growth. This aspect of his career enhances his expertise in leadership and communication, offering practical advice and strategies to those looking to advance their own careers.
Joe's leadership coaching is characterized by his commitment to excellence and his ability to draw out the strengths in others to foster success.
STEWART LEVINE, JD is a seasoned coach, with over 2500 hours of coaching, who focuses on collaboration, performance excellence, leadership, relationships, and team development. Drawing on his experience from industry, government and high tech, Stewart has consulted at all levels. As an attorney, he realized that arguing was ineffective in resolving conflict. His book, Getting to Resolution: Turning Conflict into Collaboration, is an international bestseller and was an Executive Book Club selection.
Stewart is a former municipal attorney and a county commission attorney. He uses his proprietary “Agreements for Results” to bring people from where they are to where they want and need to be. In addition to his work with municipal governments, Stewart was a successful executive with AT&T facilitating massive transition.
VICTORIA SMITH-RAYMOND is a coach, facilitator, and educator. She has over twenty years of experience as a focus group and retreat facilitator, a conflict resolution mediator, team-building, and strategic planning workshop leader. She combines interactive group work and the “creative thinking” process to increase engagement and achieve desired goals. She has served on community service boards and been an advisor for crisis management teams both internationally and at a state level. She is certified in higher education administration and management.
CHRISTINA GUSTAFSON is a seasoned professional with over 30 years of experience in coaching and relationship development, complemented by training in Trauma and Stress, Conflict Resolution/Mediation, Public Speaking, and Communications and Leadership.
Working with customers and clients across both for-profit and non-profit sectors, she has a deep understanding of human interaction and communication. Through her work with founders, CEOs, and VCs, she has gained insights into the challenges and aspirations of executives.
Passionate about personal development and human potential, she provides supportive guidance in navigating personal and professional challenges. As a board-certified Psychosynthesis Life Coach, she brings a diverse skill set. Her focus on fostering greater presence, self-awareness, and authenticity reflects her belief in the transformative impact of individual growth on teams, communities, and the world.
NAUSHAD GODREJ is a board-certified health and wellness coach and educator who is passionate about helping individuals overcome career and life challenges through an integrative mind-body approach. With over a decade of experience coaching leaders, CEOs, and high performers, Naushad guides clients through obstacles while empowering them to build sustainable lifestyle and behavior changes. His foundational “root cause” approach allows people to experience deeper levels of awareness that extend into all areas of their lives.
With a diverse experience working in customer success, operations, and business development in tech start-ups and healthcare companies, Naushad has an in-depth understanding of various business needs and challenges. His work encompasses corporate workshops, individual coaching, and group programs focused on behavior change.
JO BELLACCOMO is a master trainer, coach, author and international speaker with more than 25 years experience, helping professionals in all aspects of leadership and high stakes communication. Jo provides leadership and communication training for Fortune 500 companies, coaches executives, and has directed an external consulting project at New York City’s Human Resources Administration. She has led teams through organizational change and managing the change curve. She focuses on communication, leadership and influence, emotional intelligence, moving beyond unconscious bias, and mastering mindset.
In her book, Move the Message (Lantern Books 2004), Jo brings together her talent as a leadership coach and her passion for business transformation and social responsibility. Focusing on strategic communication skills, Move the Message was used at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs in a course on human rights advocacy.
UCHENNA OMOKARO is a clinical leader, educator, and speaker, with nearly two decades of experience working within the healthcare sector. She has strong management, strategic planning, and operational efficiency skills, with extensive experience in process improvement and team building. Uchenna teaches her clients how to show up with authenticity and favorable influence in the workplace setting, while emphasizing the skills of compassion, empathy, and self-awareness.
As a leader, she has worked with clinical teams in academic, private, and public institutions, traveled across the country as a nurse speaker, developed clinical education courses and workshops, and trained new employees for success and retention in their roles. She is passionate about personal and professional growth and encourages a mindful approach to personal transformation and successful team dynamics. She strives to help individuals understand their strengths and growth opportunities, in order to promote measurable improvements in their confidence and performance.
HEATHER DAVIDSON has been a senior level sales and strategic leader, executive coach, training director, facilitator and learning and development professional for over two decades. She has built and led high-performing teams and has steered leaders through strategic and transformative initiatives that have improved communication, increased efficiencies and elevated culture and performance.
She’s walked in many of your shoes and appreciates first-hand the challenges you face. She is driven by results and guiding you towards clear, actionable solutions enabling you to realize your aspirations, untangle complex problems, and discover deeper clarity and satisfaction in your lives and career. She takes a collaborative approach as she works to understand your desired outcome and partners with you to craft a plan that will bring results. She is currently pursuing an Industrial / Organizational Psychology Master’s Degree, which focuses on the study and development of how an organization behaves and achieves optimal performance.